Does US envoy violate anti-graft law?

Cho Yoon-sun, left, and Mark Lippert

By Choi Ha-young

A meeting between Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun and U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert faced an unexpected snag following an inconsistent interpretation of the anti-graft law.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Friday, Lippert, a huge fan of the local baseball team the Doosan Bears, suggested he and Cho watch the Korean Series opening game together at Jamsil Stadium in southeastern Seoul on Saturday for a casual meeting to talk about sports policy and future cooperation.

The ministry then asked the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) whether the ministry’s reserving of game tickets through the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) would be in violation of the recently initiated anti-graft law. The law, the so-called Kim Young-ran Act, prohibits government officials from misusing their authority for their convenience.

Because the tickets quickly sell out, it would be almost impossible for the ministry to set aside 20 tickets for Cho and Lippert plus their aides, without the KBO’s help. The ministry and the embassy said they would fully pay for the tickets.

The ACRC, however, answered “no,” saying reservations through the KBO would be abuse of authority. It said the officials should reserve tickets like ordinary members of the public through mobile apps or a ticket sales website.

The ministry then sent an official inquiry about the issue to the head of the commission, and as the story was made public, the ACRC overturned its earlier statement. “According to the letter from the ACRC, buying tickets for the minister and her aides is not a violation of the law, because this is part of their official duty,” said a ministry official.

Since the anti-corruption law took effect on Sept. 28, people have been confused over unclear interpretations of the law, while inquiries made to the ACRC call center have not been smooth.

The ministry official said that whether Cho and Lippert will really have the ballpark meeting has not yet been confirmed because of scheduling arrangements between the two.